Resources for families

Ask them open-ended questions. Be an excellent sounding board and source of encouragement and support. Let them drive the process. Offer your opinions as they are sought and help provide the opportunities for your student to fully explore their options.

During our special preview or visit days, there are scheduled panels for family members with current students, teaching faculty and student resource administrators. Our Office of Financial Aid has open office hours and members of the financial aid staff are happy to meet with you about your specific questions. You can also ask to meet with your student’s admissions counselor.

During an individual visit, family members can schedule to meet with their student’s admissions counselor. We will try our best to accommodate any special meetings you would like to schedule with the Office of Financial Aid, disability services or student resource areas. If you are here during the day, you might accompany your student and at least one current student to lunch in the dining hall.

You can find up-to-date information about our application process on our how to apply page.

For eligible students, applying for need-based financial aid begins with submitting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). This can be done starting Oct. 1. Occasionally, additional information is needed and the financial aid office will notify your student of these requirements through email.

After all requirements have been met and your child has been admitted, an email notification will be sent with instructions for viewing the financial aid award. Students are notified of any merit or non-need based scholarships separately.

Learn more about financial aid, including scholarships →

Most of the communications from the Office of Admissions are sent to your student via email. It’s important for our office to have a valid email address and for that email account to be checked regularly, so you may want to remind your student to keep an eye on their inbox.

Admission decision letters are released online through an application status portal. Financial aid information and awards are communicated via email. Admitted students also receive paper copies of the letter of admission and the financial aid award through the regular mail.

New students typically arrive on campus about four days prior to the first day of classes. During that time, they participate in a number of activities, panels and events that are designed and led by current students and faculty to help introduce students to both the academic and residential life of the College. These opportunities to meet with their academic advisers, gather in their residence halls with other new students, explore the City of Richmond through community service projects, and learn about Earlham’s community code from student government representatives are designed to help students make their transition to college.

There are also activities planned for parents and families during the first day following a student’s arrival for orientation. A full schedule of new student orientation activities for both students and parents is provided prior to the students’ arrival on campus.

Earlham is committed to providing an exceptional education for its students and to preparing our graduates for successful careers in many fields as researchers, scientists, teachers, diplomats, entrepreneurs, healthcare workers and doctors, to name just a few. No matter what their chosen professions, Earlham graduates are also involved citizens and caring parents, achieving their personal goals while working for the common good.

Although the majority of Earlham students go directly into the workforce upon graduation, within several years, many Earlham alumni are enrolled in graduate school programs. Nearly 50 percent of Earlham students attend graduate school within 10 years of graduation.

View 2019 outcomes.

View 2018 outcomes.